win2000 to 2003 migration

[Guest]

I currently have 2 win2000 DC's but want to move to 2003. We have 1300
accounts which will imply massive password problems if the servers are
installed fresh (as passwords can't be migrated..right?). So what is the
upgrade option like? will it cause lots of patching and problems in the
future because the OS will always be an upgrade version rather than a fresh
install.

 

[Mike [MSFT]]

Going from 2000 to 2003 should be smooth. I am assuming this is all a
single domain with 2 DC's.
If you have a spare (3rd) server you could bring it us as a clean WS2003, do
a forestprep/domainprep and then dcpromo the 2003 server. Check for any
replication errors.
Transfer all FSMO roles to this new box, check for errors again, then demote
one of the W2K DC's.
Clean istall this demoted DC with WS2003, then dcpromo it and so on until
all W2K DC's are now clean WS2003 DC's.
Finally after you're happy that everything is working you can raise the
domain/forest functionality levels.

An in-place upgrade is an option, and works well, but most people prefer the
clean installation method.

I know there are several 'planning' articles and 'best practices' for this.
I don't have any of the bookmarks handy, but they're probably somewhere
under here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/default.mspx

REMEMBER: Plan first. Backup before you do anything. Take your time.
Verify each step.

--

Thanks,
Mike

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